Top US judge denies row over Obamacare ruling

A conservative Supreme Court judge denied Wednesday falling out with the top US court's chief justice over his shock decision to back President Barack Obama's health reform law.

In a rare interview, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said he had legal differences, but no personal arguments with Chief Justice John Roberts, who dismayed conservatives in the landmark vote last month.

"No, I haven't had a falling out with Justice Roberts," Scalia told CNN interviewer Piers Morgan, adding: "There are clashes on legal questions but not personally."

"The press likes to paint us as nine scorpions in a bottle and that's just not the case at all," he said, referring to media reports suggesting the surprise decision triggered tense scenes in the court.

"You should not believe what you read about the court in the newspapers .. It's either been made up or been given to the newspapers by somebody who's violating a confidence, which means that person is not reliable."

Chief Justice Roberts, who had been seen as a reliable conservative, was branded a traitor by some over his decisive role in the 5-4 vote to uphold the health insurance mandate at the heart of what critics deride as "Obamacare."

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